Susan33

My husband and I have never used JFK in our travels, so we are totally unfamiliar with the airport. We are flying into JFK from Turkey on Turkish Airlines. According to our schedule, we have 2 hours and 20 minutes between our international flight and leaving on our domestic flight with American Airlines. With the amount of time needed for landing, deplaning, claiming luggage, going through customs, rechecking luggage, dashing from international to domestic to board our flight, this does not seem to be alot of time. The American flight to SFO is also the last one for the day.

Am I correct in my thinking that the amount of time between flights is totally unrealistic? Is there information available on the quickest way to proceed from one flight to another at JFK?

I will appreciate any advice about this situation. Thanks

nytraveler

JFK is large - with numerous terminals. Turkish uses #1 and AA domestic is #9. However the Air Train connects all of them and runs every few minutes.

The bigger issues are:

Will the Turkish flight land on time and will you luggage be delivered on a timely basis

How many other flights land at the same time (you don;t say when you're coming in). If a bunch land at once immigration can be overwhelmed - and luggage can be slow.

How bad are the security lines at AA (in my experience they're usually awful) and how far in advance do they want you to check in.

Assume these are 2 separate tickets - in which case if you miss the second flight you're on your own and no one owes you anything. If it's ticketed as a single itinerary the airline should help you make arrangements - but obviously can't manufacture additional flights.

I have no experience with Turkish Air - so can't prognosticate - but I would be hesitant. Try to find out their on-time record.

LoveItaly

Susan, I avoid JFK. Besides customs you will have immigrations.

The last time I was at JFK I was able to get the domestic flight back to SFO with about one minute to spare.

Not to be discouraging but since your flight to SFO is the last one of the day you might take a list of nearby airport hotels with you..you may end up staying overnight and taking a plane out the next day. Good wishes!

rkkwan

Even at the worse US airport of entry, 2:20 is <b>not un</b>realistic for a US citizen to make the transfer.

But nytraveler's right about the issue of one-ticket vs two. You need to think about the consequences of missing it.

Turkish and AA are partners and that flight is a AA codeshare. If you're on the same ticket, then AA will rebook you to SFO the next day.

I think the risk is small, and you should be fine.

rkkwan

BTW, if you're flying full fare, business and first class, if you miss the connection, you can try to get AA to endorse you over to DL for their late flight to SFO. Or Jetblue to OAK.

Susan33

Thanks to all of you for the information. I will try to get a map of JFK and familiarize myself with the terminals. I will also take a list of hotels just in case we have to stay overnight. Thanks again.

rkkwan

www.panynj.gov/airtrain/around_jfk.html

Terminal 9 to 1 is one-stop. Takes about a minute on the AirTrain. Make sure you ride the correct one that only circles around the airport (yellow on map). Or you'll have to go the long way around.

Susan33

Thank you rkkwan for the link for JFK transportation at the airport. I will study and use it for our trip.

We have changed our domestic flight to the next day. It means staying overnight at a motel near JFK, and that will eliminate our concerns over making a connection from international to domestic.

We are thinking of staying at the Hilton Gardens.